The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter Character Analysis

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In her novel, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers is trying to convey the idea of sorrow and loneliness correlating to death.
One seemingly minor event that holds greater symbolic significance is when Spiros Antonapoulos is sent to the asylum. This is significant owing to the fact that it is the beginning of the chain of events that causes the other characters to meet John Singer. Singer and Antonapoulos are best friends, however, they are complete opposites. Singer is selfless, hardworking, and cares too much while Antonapoulos is an overweight, lazy Greek who is undeserving of Singers devotion. Their differences are shown on the first page with Antonapoulos wearing “a yellow or green polo shirt stuffed sloppily into his trousers” and Singer is “always immaculate and very soberly dressed.” Both Singer and Antonapoulos can neither speak nor hear. Singer is loyal to the Greek because for 10 years “they were always seen together” and they only communicate with one another. Singer is so attached to Antonapoulos that he feels as if his life is shattered when Antonapoulos is sent away to the Asylum. The apartment they once shared together holds too many memories so Singer moves to the Kelly house, which is how he meets the four other characters. He visits Antonapoulos whenever he can …show more content…

He is like the fictional version of Malcolm X 20 years before his time. He is constantly upset that the black community can not and will not do anything to pull themselves out of the pit they are in. Singer is the only white man who can he can talk to and trust. He only thinks this because Singer can not voice his opinions and not disagree with how problems are solved. When Singer dies it is a devastating blow and “a dark sorrow lays down in his heart.” Doctor Copeland does not understand how Singer can be truly dead “when [he] still lives in the souls of those who are left

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